Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker spent $16M on recall TV ads

Jul. 8, 2012

Written by

Todd Richmond,

Associated Press

MADISON — Gov. Scott Walker poured almost half of the $33.4 million he spent campaigning after Democrats and their allies started circulating recall petitions against him on television advertising, the governor’s finance reports show.

The reports offer a glimpse of how Walker deployed his astounding resources to defeat Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in last month’s election and underscore in no uncertain terms that despite the social media revolution, television remains the medium of choice for serious politicians.

“They’re just campaigning 30 seconds at a time on television,” said Mike McCabe, executive director of government watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. “That speech costs a fortune. That’s the single biggest driving force behind the campaign arms race.”

Democrats angry over Walker’s plan to strip most public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining powers began circulating petitions to recall him and five other GOP officeholders on Nov. 15. Democrats saw the proposal as an attack on organized labor, one of their key constituencies. Walker countered he had to make the changes to help balance the state budget.

Conservatives across the country rallied behind Walker, hailing him as a hero. Thanks largely to a quirk in state law that allows recall targets to collect unlimited donations for a time, they handed him piles of money. Since he took office in January 2011, Walker raised $37.4 million, crushing the single candidate fundraising record of $11 million he set in 2010.

Barrett didn’t begin campaigning until March 30 and couldn’t match Walker’s cash. The mayor spent $6.6 million between then and the end of June, less than Walker spent just in the month surrounding the election. The governor went on to easily best Barrett in the June 5 election.

The Associated Press reviewed Walker’s campaign expense reports covering Nov. 15 through June 30 and Barrett’s reports covering March 30 through June 30. Both sets of reports show huge spending on television.

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The Walker campaign’s biggest expenditure — $16 million — was TV advertising, double what the campaign paid for anything else. The next largest expenditure was $8.1 million for mailings. Other notable expenses included $1 million for radio ads; a little more than $554,000 for website development; $441,000 for legal fees; $285,000 in wages; $226,000 for automated calls; and $36,900 for online advertising.

“Governor Walker took to the airwaves to get the facts out. Once voters heard the truth, they reaffirmed the decision they made in 2010,” Walker campaign spokesman Tom Evenson said in an email.

The biggest expense for Barrett’s campaign was TV, too. He paid $4.2 million for ads between March 30 and June 30, a hefty number but only a quarter of Walker’s TV spending.

The mayor didn’t spend more than $625,000 on any other area — his next largest payouts were $623,000 for online advertising; $406,875 for automated calls; and $240,107 for staff wages.

“You can talk about social media … but still it pales in comparison to television,” said Charles Franklin, a visiting professor of law and public policy at Marquette University. “This reinforces how campaigns are run. What they do is put ads on television. The modern, high-end campaign does look like a business. It’s run by professional staff and consultants and TV and travel and fundraising.”

Galloway resigned rather than defend her seat, but state election officials let the race in her central Wisconsin district continue regardless. Rep. Jerry Petrowski, R-Marathon, ended up defeating Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau, for the open seat.

All the other Republican incumbents beat back their challengers except for Wanggaard in Racine County’s 21st Senate District. A recount completed last week showed Democrat John Lehman with a 819-vote edge, but Wanggaard has refused to concede — a Lehman victory would give Democrats control of the Senate — and is contemplating a legal challenge.